Howard Campbell, Sunday Gleaner Writer

AT a time when many are questioning the commitment of Jamaican youth, Warren Newby says he knows how important it is to reach out to his generation. His best opportunity to show this came three weeks ago when Prime Minister Bruce Golding appointed him Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sport.

The mild-mannered Newby was also named a senator and was recently sworn in at Gordon House. At 30 years old, he is not only the youngest member of the Upper House, but the Cabinet as well. The Alexandria, St. Ann-native Newby says things have been hectic since he assumed his new post, but stresses the importance of government hitting the right note with youth.

"Entertainment, sports and gender are all related to young people. We want to streamline all departments and make sure there's no duplicition in programmes," he tells The Sunday Gleaner. "The aim is to get maximum value out of every dollar spent."

Longstanding concern

Getting wayward youth back on track has been a long-standing national concern. Newby said the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government has targeted a category called, 'Unattached Youth', which is made up of 40,000 largely unemployed and illiterate persons. "We have to stem the tide and cut that figure," he states.

The Parliamanetary Secretary in the youth ministry discloses that a joint effort with the Ministry of Education will seek to train these youth, reintroduce them to the school system, and prepare them for the job market through agencies like HEART/NTA.

The JLP administration, Newby adds, also has plans for youth who find it difficult staying in tertiary institutions. Another joint programme, this time with the Ministry of Finance, looks to expand the amount of funds in the Students Loan Bureau.

Last week, the young Parliamen-tary Secretary made his first official trip abroad to attend a regional meeting on youth and culture in Georgetown, Guyana.

Newby is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, the Caribbean's best-known education facility. He holds a degree in public administration and economics and is currently reading for a law degree from the University of London. He comes from a "strong JLP family" and got involved in politics mainly because of a man who led the party for 30 years.

"I've always admired Edward Seaga. He is a pragmatist and does things in a straightforward way," Newby states.

Newby is president of Generation 2000, the JLP's youth affiliate; he succeeded current Agriculture Minister, Christopher Tufton, last November. The organisation was responsible for most of the party's hard-hitting advertisements during the recent general-election campaign.

Political hounds

Although public reception to the marketing drive was generally positive, Newby says there was no satisfying the political hounds.

"We got a lot of flak from JLP people who said we weren't aggressive enough, but I have a lot of PNP friends who said we were too tough on the former PM (Portia Simpson Miller)," he relates.

Prior to his government appointment, Newby operated the Ocho Rios-based Integrated Solid Waste Management company.

WHILE MANY of his colleagues exchanged charges of corruption in the aftermath of the September 3 general election, Basil Waite was mulling what contributed to a low voter turnout. He noticed that the youth vote was not very strong, and that to him, is worrying.

"There are a number of reasons why it was so low, one of them being that the level of apathy is too high. We need to re-engage young people," Waite tells The Sunday Gleaner.

The 31-year-old business consultant was one of eight PNP senators sworn in during the recent opening of Parliament. His place in the Upper House will give him his first taste of legislative politics. The former president of the PNP Youth Organisation (PNPYO) is determined to change Jamaican youths' negative perception of the political system.

"Many of them feel that they don't need to participate in the democracy, but they need to understand that politics is not all bad," he says. "We need to look at ways to encourage these persons to participate in the running of the country. Good people need to get into politics."

Despite his youth, Waite has been around the political scene for some time. As president of the PNPYO, he was a fiery mouthpiece in the last two general elections. Waite was a key member of the PNP's marketing team during the recent election. In the last two weeks of the campaign, he questioned then Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Bruce Golding's integrity by stridently pointing to his admission of past links with criminals.

Speaking in a more conciliatory manner, Waite tells The Sunday Gleaner: "Generally, I want an approach of bi-partisanship, and I also want to partner with the young senators on the Government side to fashion where we want to see this country going," he says.

Waite believes a joint approach is critical if issues like urban migration and illiteracy among youth are to be effectively addressed. He also supports constitutional reform, one of the pillars of the JLP election manifesto.

"I like the fact that when I was sworn in, I was able to swear to the people of Jamaica, its laws and Constitution. I would have difficulty swearing allegiance to the Queen," he states. "There are other areas of our Constitution that need reform and I will look at them on merit, and contribute in a bipartisan manner," the young senator adds.

Basil Waite hails from Elderslie, a hilly region in north St. Elizabeth.